Missing
by Syncop8ed Rhythm
Summary: Tim is put in danger when he is searching for new evidence in a case.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing he was aware of was the darkness. He blinked a few times…yes, his eyes were open. Was he blind?

The second thing he noticed was the pain. It took him a little longer to distinguish where the pain came from: his head and his arms. He felt himself swing slightly. Ahh, he was…hanging…from the ceiling, probably. Yes, that made sense. His head, though, why was that hurting? He scrunched his eyebrows, trying to remember.

He faded, losing touch with reality for a few moments, then returned. He frowned at the darkness. Was he blind? _Focus! You already asked that. Yeah, but I never __answered__, _he thought. He stopped, mentally shaking himself. Arguing with yourself, never a good thing. He moved his eyebrows and decided it was a blindfold. Why he wore one, he didn't know. Nothing really made sense at the moment.

Of course! Mystery solved! One of them at least. His head hurt from the blow it had received earlier. His satisfaction faded when what should have been an obvious observation slowly became clear to him. This situation, the whole hanging-from-the-ceiling thing, was not good. He heard something creak, like a door opening, and swallowed. He was pretty sure the situation had just gotten worse.


	2. Chapter 2

He had been going door to door. The case for a missing naval officer was growing cold and Gibbs was irritated. Since Abby was angry at him for some reason he did not know, he'd volunteered to question the people in the officer's neighborhood. He was still surprised with how quick he'd been to volunteer for the job, but he knew it was either question the neighbors, or be stuck with an angry Abby in the evidence garage. Apparently, self-preservation had kicked in fairly quickly.

"Hello…Agent McGee." McGee jumped at the voice whispering in his ear. He heard the man laugh softly as he forced himself to stay calm. His breathing quickened; had he just heard a knife being opened?

"You know, I don't like unexpected visitors," the voice continued, now on McGee's other side. _And I don't like unpleasant surprises, _Tim said silently, not quite able to form the words. And it had been an unpleasant surprise, finding that naval officer.

After a morning of finding no new information, he'd called Gibbs and said he'd had no luck. "You're calling me to tell me you're not having any luck, McGee?"

"Um, yes, Boss."

"I don't want to hear it, McGee!"

"Yes, Boss, I'll just-"

"Find me something! I don't care if you have to search that neighborhood on your hands and knees, you will find me some new evidence or a witness. You understand McGee?"

"Yes, Boss, I'll-" And Gibbs hung up. Tim had sighed as he placed the phone on the dashboard. He'd decided to go another block down and talk to more neighbors. When he'd reached the next house, no one had answered his knock. Shrugging, Tim turned to walk away before hearing a noise behind the house. He rounded the corner, calling out. "Hello? Anyone here? I'm Agent McGee with NCIS and I have a few…" His voice had faded as he saw an old car with the trunk open. Inside the trunk was the missing naval officer. Dead. Before McGee could reach for his gun, he'd felt something crash into the back of his head. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

McGee was wrenched into the present quite quickly, when he felt the blade of a knife at his throat. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to meddle in other people's business?" The knife left his throat, but before McGee could sigh in relief, he felt the knife slash across his chest. A startled grunt escaped him.

"Tsk, tsk. Is that the best you can do?" Another slash, this one deeper, longer, to his side, and McGee moaned. The man chuckled. McGee gritted his teeth, fighting the pain and the fear that his absence would not be noticed by his team. _Please, Boss…please…_He breathed heavily, noticing the silence in the room.

Was the man gone? McGee hadn't heard the door, but he could have missed it. He cursed the blindfold; he needed to see! "Boo!" The man whispered from behind him and McGee jumped, his body swinging above the ground. Without warning, the knife stabbed into his shoulder. He tried not to scream, he really did, but a strangled yell of surprise and pain was forced from him.

"Much better," the voice said. McGee shuddered, fear clouding his mind. He knew the reason for the blindfold now…

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AN: I would love to hear what you guys think...


	3. Chapter 3

AN: A thank you to everyone who has read this and a special thank you to everyone who reviewed and put this story on their alerts. I hope you all enjoy the next two chapters. Oh, and I didn't put up a disclaimer earlier. I assume you all know that I don't own anything related to the show.

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He knew the reason for the blindfold now…_

Tim needed to do something to separate himself from the pain and fear, or he would not survive. He didn't even know what the man was doing. The man, the man…He was getting tired of just calling his kidnapper "the man." His mouth quirked as he thought of Tony's unique ability to come up with nicknames at the drop of a hat. What would Tony call this man?

"Something funny?" The voice asked.

It couldn't be something cool, like the Shadow. Nor could Tim call him Thing 1. There had to be another partner in crime for that name to make sense.

Without warning, hands were wrapped around McGee's neck, squeezing. "I asked if something was funny!" The voice growled. McGee choked, trying desperately to breathe, to free himself from the man's grasp, but he could not. Bright sparks of light were crowding his already blackened vision. His protests were fading, his movements becoming weaker and even more futile…And then the man let go. Tim coughed, blessed air flooding his body. He gasped, reveling in the flow of air through his lungs.

The punch took him by surprise, forcibly expelling the air he was enjoying from his body. His attacker's frenzied hits continued to come. McGee's yells faded to pained moans. "Stop, please…" He begged softly.

The hits slowed, until only the heavy breathing of both men filled the air. "Next time I ask you a question, you answer." McGee heard footsteps and the awful creaking noise from the door again. Tim didn't need to see to know the guy was gone, he could just feel it. His head fell forward as a sob wracked his body. "Boss, it hurts," he whispered, wishing he could hear his boss, wishing he could sink into oblivion. Only the last wish came true.


	4. Chapter 4

Surely someone had missed him by now, right? Tim didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but a good deal of time must have passed already, right? Someone from the team had to have noticed he wasn't back yet, that he had not checked in with anyone for some time. Right?

He took a deep breath, instantly regretting that instinctive action. He cast his mind around for something to occupy himself-Oh yes, naming the villainous scoundrel who held him captive.

Villainous scoundrel? That sounded like something Ducky would say. In fact, he thought Ducky might have used that term before. But villainous scoundrel was too long. He wanted something short.

He would have been concerned at his mind's lack of creativity, but his injuries were taking precedence. He couldn't even feel his hands anymore. His shoulder, however, was screaming at him. So were his ribs, his chest, his face…

Maybe McGee could shorten it, use initials. V.S. He shook his head slightly; blood loss must be making him loopy.

"So you are awake."

McGee gasped loudly, his heart pounding in shock. He hadn't even heard him or felt his presence! Once McGee had calmed himself as much as he could, he dared to ask a question. "Who are you?" His words were raspy, his throat protesting at its use.

"_I _am the one who asks the questions!" McGee choked as hands wrapped around his throat once more. "You're just like that other man; he was nosy, too!" The hands let go, leaving McGee to fight for his breath.

Tim couldn't stop shivering. He was scared; his team didn't know where he was. They didn't even know he was in trouble.

"What are you thinking about?" The voice came from behind him. McGee's answer obviously wasn't quick enough. The punch to his side caused his back to arch. "Answer me!"

"My team!" Tim forced from between his clenched teeth, "I was thinking…about my team."

"Why?"

Tim gave a grim smile. This _villainous scoundrel _wasn't going to like his answer. "I was…imagining what they were…going to do to you when…when they found you." He heard the man breathe, so he turned his head in that direction. "I would…run…if I were you."

McGee wasn't really surprised his words angered the psycho, but he was surprised by how much _more _pain he could feel. It had also become rather difficult to breathe. Tim felt a wave of sorrow when his torturer hit one last time and another crack filled the air. This wasn't the way he wanted to die; alone, forgotten. He'd rather hoped he would have had another chance with Abby, maybe get to say goodbye to his team.

His body was tired and it was just so hard to keep breathing…He could hear a voice talking, but his ears weren't working properly and he really could care less about what that psycho was saying.

Tim could say goodbye. His team would never hear it, but at least it would have been said. He gave another sad smile, their faces flashing through his mind. "Goodbye," he whispered, and his head fell forward.

He was completely oblivious to the hands on his face that were pulling off the blindfold, the tugging at his wrists as he was freed and lowered gently to the floor, and the voices that yelled for him to come back. He felt nothing when Tony and Gibbs started CPR and did not hear Ziva call for an ambulance.

He wasn't there.

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AN: I have never written a cliffhanger before. How was that? I'm not finished, but I would love to hear your thoughts...


	5. Chapter 5

Was he alive? If he was, he wasn't quite sure how he would feel about that. Disappointed, probably. If he was alive, then that gave Psycho more chances to use him as a human punching bag…or a really big stress reliever…He was drifting again, but he still kept his train of thought. Aha! He'd come up with a name. Psycho. His lips twitched in a smile; so it wasn't the most creative name, and maybe not much better than VS, but it was still better than 'the man.'

"So, you are awake," the voice came from the side, and McGee flinched, instinctively trying to curl into himself. The pain that had previously gone unnoticed exploded in his body and he gave a moan, unable to articulate how much it hurt. "Hey! Hey, it's okay…" the voice soothed, hands resting gently on his shoulders. "Relax. Open your eyes."

McGee clenched his fists, trying to fight their shaking. He knew that voice. His eyes blinked open. He could see now; the blindfold had been removed. Of course it had been. The bright whiteness of the room was such a difference from the complete darkness that he had been subjected to. His eyes moved around the room, catching Tony and Ziva's anxious faces smoothing in relief, and Abby's tear-filled smile. Finally, his gaze fell on the owner of the voice he had just heard. "Boss…" Blue eyes crinkled as Gibbs smiled, relieved.

A soft tap to the top of McGee's head made his eyes widen at the older man. "If you ever give up like that again…" The threat trailed off and McGee smiled as he closed his eyes. He changed his mind. He wasn't disappointed; he was happy.

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AN: So, this is all that I've written for this story. If you guys are interested and think it could add to the story, I could be persuaded to write this from the team's perspective. No promises, since I haven't written anything, but I'd be willing to try. Let me know what you guys think. And a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to review and add me to their alerts and everything. You all made my day!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thanks for all of your input. How's this for a start?

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Tony rubbed his face as he watched McGee sleep. _It could have been worse,_ he kept trying to tell himself. And it was true. McGee could have been killed. That didn't mean what had happened wasn't bad enough. He'd lost quite a bit of blood from the stab wound, broken ribs, punctured lung…Heck, they had to give him _CPR _when they'd found him. If that didn't say how bad Tim was, he wasn't sure what would. He sighed as the list of things wrong with his friend kept repeating through his mind. _Probie…you're not the one who's supposed to get hurt._

He felt so guilty. He should have volunteered to canvass the neighborhood, but McGee had jumped in so dang fast, Tony hadn't had a chance to. Thinking of that, he knew he wasn't the only one who felt guilty. His gaze slid to Abby, who had finally stopped crying. Who knew why she had been angry at Tim…Tim hadn't known, that was for certain.

_Earlier that day…_

"Uh, McTarget? Why is Abby glaring daggers at you? If looks could kill…"

"I have no idea," Tim shook his head.

Tony's gaze fell to the cup McGee had put down. "You sure you want to drink that?"

Tim looked confused, "Well, yeah, Tony."

"No, I mean…You didn't leave that cup unattended near Abby, did you?"

McGee eyed the cup warily, "Now that you mention it..." McGee pried the lid off the cup and gave it a sniff.

"She wouldn't leave a trace," DiNozzo continued. McGee grimaced, then winced in pain as both his and DiNozzo's heads ducked forward at Gibbs' head slaps.

"Get back to work! Did you find any new leads, DiNozzo?"

"Ah, no Boss, but-" "How 'bout you, McGee? Did smelling your coffee help you find new evidence for the case?"

"No, Boss," Tim threw the cup away.

Gibbs glared at the two of them as he sat at his desk. "Someone needs to re-canvass the neighborhood."

Tony opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, McGee's "I'll go, Boss," cut in.

"Fine; Tony, go see if Abby needs help," Gibbs said.

_Ooh, Probie, you just got lucky…_

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It was all Tony could do to hold back the derisive snort. Lucky. He'd actually thought McGee was lucky for getting away from Abby and Gibbs. Tony had had no idea. He'd had no clue his friend was being tortured while he worked, while he had lunch…while he joked with Ziva that McGee was taking his time since he was scared to face Abby.

He hadn't known.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Hey! Thanks so much for the comments! I am much more nervous about these chapters (the last one and the next two) since I hadn't really planned them out. Hopefully, they live up to all of your guys' expectations. To answer one of your questions, there is this chapter, which is Tony's POV again, and one more, with Gibbs. I will post that one in a few days. Thanks again!

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Tony eyed his phone. McGee should have called to check in by now. He knew he wasn't the only one worried when he caught Ziva glancing at her phone, too. Tim had called in a couple hours before to tell Gibbs about his lack of success. Tony winced; Gibbs hadn't been happy. He saw his boss glance at the phone. _Uh-oh. _Tim had better be in trouble, or Gibbs would have his butt for making him worried. Tony quickly squashed the thought. Hopefully, Tim had just lost track of time.

Gibbs reached for his phone, and Tony quit pretending to do his paperwork to watch. He and Ziva traded an anxious glance when Gibbs set the receiver down without speaking.

"Were you trying to reach McGee?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, and he's not answering. Let's go."

It took them two hours to re-canvass the neighborhood, and now the team stood in front of a shabby house, knocking on the door. This house and the one across the street would have been Tim's next stop. No one had answered their knocks earlier at either house. Tony smothered a sigh; he knew he wasn't the only one fast losing patience. He eyed Tim's car across the street. _Dang it, Probie! Why'd you leave your phone in the car? _

"Should we break down the door?" Ziva asked, when no one answered.

"No, we'll circle the house; see what's in the backyard first," Gibbs said.

The backyard was empty, except for an old car that hadn't been visible from the front. Tony's nose wrinkled. "Uh, Boss?" A faint, unpleasant odor had reached his nose.

"Pop the trunk, DiNozzo."

Tony hurried to comply. The lid popped open, revealing the dead marine. Gibbs cursed and they rushed back to the door.

_Tony squeezed the bridge of his nose. The events that followed were going to give him nightmares…_

They had cleared the house quickly, quietly, meeting by a closed door. Tony could hear noises coming from beyond the door and assumed it lead to a basement. They pulled the door open and rushed down the stairs, yelling "NCIS! Don't move!"

It took an absurd amount of time for Tony to realize the muffled sounds he had heard belonged to someone being beaten. When his gaze fell on Tim, however, that knowledge left him breathless. They had run across the room, Gibbs yelling for Ziva to arrest the psycho that had caused so much damage to Tim. Even now, Tony wondered how he had heard McGee. By all rights, with all the noise from their shouting and running, hearing Tim's broken whisper should have been impossible. But it had cut straight through all of the noise, straight to DiNozzo's heart, almost as if Tim had yelled the word.

DiNozzo swore he hadn't breathed since that moment. Not really. He and Gibbs had freed McGee and begun CPR. He could _just _recall Ziva alternately calling for an ambulance and threatening to break each bone in Psycho's body. Tony's first breath hadn't come until Tim had opened his eyes. And by then, he knew. McGee was going to be fine.


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs looked down at the folder, rereading its contents. Joseph Tannen. Age 43. Recently unemployed because he had shown signs of mental instability and refused to seek medical attention. Gibbs took a deep breath to control his anger. Then, he slammed the door open and strode into the room. Joseph Tannen flinched, glaring balefully at Gibbs before he returned to his rocking. Gibbs stood in front of him for a moment, watching. Forward…and back. Forward…and back.

"I have you for the murder of a naval officer, and the assault and attempted murder of a federal agent." There was no change to his rocking. "Why did you do it?"

Tannen began rocking slightly faster, but showed no signs of speaking. Gibbs slammed his hands on the desk. "Why?"

Tannen jumped, his rocking going faster and faster as he began to speak. "Nosy. Nosy. You're just like them. They were both nosy." Over and over he repeated these words as he rocked faster and faster. Gibbs' gaze narrowed, but he just waited. When there was no change, he took a step away from the table. He was surprised when the rocking slowed and the muttering ceased. Then Tannen looked up and met Gibbs' gaze. Where there had been an unfocused stare and nervous movements just a moment ago, those action were now replaced with a deadly calm as Tannen studied Gibbs. Tannen smirked at the anger on the man's face. "I made him scream. I made them both scream." His smile grew as he continued to bait the other man. "I liked watching them squirm."

Gibbs' control snapped, and he started towards Tannen, "You sick, son on a-" He froze when Tannen began rocking again. Forward…and back. "They were nosy…"

His skin crawling at the confrontation, Gibbs pushed out of the room. He met Tony and Ziva in the hall, both of them looking shell-shocked at what they had witnessed. Without a word, they fell in line and followed Gibbs as he entered the bullpen. Gathering their things, they left the building together, only parting ways when they began driving. Gibbs headed toward the hospital, pushing aside his guilt. No, he hadn't been able to keep McGee safe earlier that day, but he wouldn't let anything hurt him tonight.

McGee shifted. _"Next time I ask you a question, you answer." _ The voice seemed to echo around him in the darkness. _No. No, no, no, I thought I was free! _Pain flared through his whole body while a crushing weight sat on his chest, making it difficult to breathe. Gibbs watched McGee move in the grips of a nightmare. As he leaned forward to put his hand on McGee's forehead, a whispered plea hit his ears. "Boss, it hurts…" McGee wished he could hear his boss, wished he could sink into oblivion. But hadn't he already wished for these things and been disappointed?

Gibbs swallowed, and reached for Tim's hand, too. "I know, Tim. It's okay. He won't hurt you again."

Tim sighed as the nightmare dissipated and he relaxed completely into sleep.

It _was _over.

He was safe.

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AN: Hey guys! That's it. I hope you liked it. Thank you for all of your reviews and support. Keep an eye out, I have another Tim-centered fic in the works...


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